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Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State Football Receives Interesting Analytics Ranking

The Iowa State Cyclones have received an interesting analytic ranking for the upcoming season.
Lucca Mazzie|
Sep 6, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones celebrate after their win against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jack Trice Stadium.
Sep 6, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones celebrate after their win against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jack Trice Stadium. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

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Iowa State Cyclones

The Iowa State Cyclones are just a few months away from the 2026 season, and hype has never been this high for a program in need of success.

After building up into being a dominant team over the past decade, things aren’t going in the right direction. Head coach Matt Campbell left for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and so did the entire core of the roster.

Now, the Cyclones are left with transfer portal scraps, but an intriguing coaching staff that could help Iowa State skip the rebuild phase.

Going into the season, the Cyclones aren’t expected to be near the top of the conference. In fact, they may be pretty low, uncharacteristic for a program like Iowa State. But there is still some faith in the program.

Iowa State receives positive analytic projections

Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media during Cyclone Tailgate Tour at Curate on may 18, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Punt and Rally is a website that uses statistics to produce expectations for college football teams each season. One of their features is a ‘power rating,’ a number next to each team in the nation.

The Cyclones have gotten a somewhat favorable score. Their number is 2.95, which ranks 51st in the country, easily in the top half of the nation, and not out of the realm of a top 25 spot at some point in the season.

In terms of the Big 12, Iowa State is somewhat competitive. They are ranked 12th of 16 teams in the conference, behind the Colorado Buffaloes, the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Kansas Jayhawks, and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

While it’s not the best rating, it does show a lot about the Cyclones entering the 2026 season. To go along with their power ratings, they have an offensive and defensive rating as well, to back up their score.

Iowa State’s numbers are interesting. The offense isn’t rated very high, at number 64. In the Big 12, it would rank 13th. But on defense, the Cyclones are ranked as high as 41. That ranks eighth in the conference, better than some of the top projected teams in the conference, such as the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Punt and Rally gives Iowa State fans some intriguing numbers leading into the upcoming season. The defensive numbers are great, and the overall score is nothing to be ashamed of, especially after a mass exodus.

Analytics are backing up the Cyclones, showing that they may have a solid season in 2026. But only time will tell how Iowa State is able to perform this upcoming fall.

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Lucca Mazzie
LUCCA MAZZIE

Lucca Mazzie is a sports journalist from Menlo Park, CA, and is a part of the Iowa State Class of 2030. He has been in the sports world since his freshman year in high school, where he has worked with a number of websites such as On3/Rivals and On SI, as well as creating a few of his own websites and podcasts. He has covered schools such as Stanford, Michigan State, Saint Mary's, and Fresno State in the past, and looks to continue his work at Iowa State.

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